hello. you are watching "live from paris." it is 9:00 p.m. here in the french capital on this new year's eve, and it is now midnight in dubai. celebrations underway in the emirates. firefighters are battling a major blaze at a high-rise hotel just a few hundred meters away. more on that story coming up. the rest of our international headlines.

elsewhere around the world, in the newnging year. we will bring you some of the spectacular celebrations. here in france, 100,000 police officers will be on duty. security massively beefed up just six weeks after the deadly attacks of november 13. they are wishing europe a happy and united new year. the french president and the german chancellor acknowledging 2015's challenges and calling for their respective nations to rally together in 2016. first, let's return to that agoing news story in dubai,

dramatic blaze at a luxury high-rise hotel. close to where thousands of people are gathering for new year's celebrations. several casualties have been reported, the police -- reported. the police say they have evacuated the building. it was due to have a party for people wanting to view the new year's eve celebrations. we will join our correspondent who is in downtown dubai for us. we spoke to you just a few minutes ago about the -- a few minutes ago. that fire was still burning strongly at that point. our firefighters -- are firefighters making any advances? reporter: the crowds around me are cheering. the fire is not over, but the fireworks celebration has started. virtually the highest tower in the world being lightened by the

fireworks. a few hundred meters away, the fire of the address hotel still burning. people have turned on their phones. they all are cheering, looking at the fireworks, which are happening just now as i am talking to you. i can see the two buildings, the one -- i can see the two buildings, the one celebrating a happy new year and the one being destroyed. catherine: certainly a very unusual scene in downtown dubai. thousands of people have gathered for the celebration. can the authorities the confident they can keep them all safe -- authorities be confident they can keep them all safe with this fire happening at the same time as the fireworks? reporter: i spoke to a few people and they say they do feel safe. they feel they are far from the fire. comle are still massively ing and seeming to enjoy the

festivities. i don't know if you can hear them cheering at every big firework. people have kind of forgotten what has happened, which is still happening, the fire still burning. people have already forgotten. they are cheering around me. catherine: there are reports that there have been some casualties at the fire at the hotel. do you know what is the latest on that? i: the latest figure that the authorities gave where that 14 injuries due to the fire and one person died from a heart attack that followed the beginning of the fire. now, the: for situation appears to be peaceful, happy, and under control around you, then? exactly.

the fire is burning down. people are happy and cheering. i am in the crowd, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people and cell phones. everyone is filming. catherine: thank you very much, aramaki.oz we are back here in europe. the year for police in brussels. they have raided several more homes as part of an investigation into a possible attack thought to have planned -- been planned on tonight's new year's activities in the city. three have been released. three have been kept for another 24 hours at least. oliver farry has more on there he is police activities in the belgian capital this week -- on various police activities in the belgian capital this week. oliver: a 22-year-old belgian

national was charged with murder. the federal prosecutor did not specify whether the suspect, named ayoub b., had direct links to the november 13 paris attacks. investigators are trying to identify individuals who may have helped so law of islam -- h elped salah abdeslam flee. police also arrested six more people's expected of -- people suspected of planning terror attacks. this whole of the arrest of two people sunday and monday in connection -- this follows the arrest of two people sunday and monday in connection to a plot. members of aere motorcycle club, the, copywriters -- the kamikaze

riders. one had posted numerous times about jihad with -- and had posted several photos of himself with his finger pointed up, a symbol of jihad. belgian police also reissued wednesday wanted notices for four members of the organization who were sentenced to prison. catherine: we can get some expert insights from brussels. the president of the european center for information policy and security, thanks very much for being with us. we have seen plenty of police activity in brussels. the public new year's eve celebrations have been canceled, as you know. in your view, how great is the risk to brussels right now? think all across

europe, there is risk. the biggest problem is that when informationarrive, is, of course, made public, and that, in itself, becomes a kind of risk. they should pay really attention to how they release information prior to any operations. and these police raids certainly do seem to be uncovering a lot of suspects. should people be feeling reassured that police seem to be getting inside jihadist networks, or worried -- inside jihadist networks or worried that these have not been uncovered until now? ricardo: exposing them to the point where they can show that they are making progress is one thing. we have to really pay attention that this information travels

around the world, and it will reach the jihadist groups first, and that is a real danger, when officials announced information that should be classified. catherine: the paris attacks fugitive, salah abdeslam, is known to be a resident of the molenbeek neighborhood, yet he has not been found. do you expect him to be uncovered amidst all of this police activity? -- amidst all of this police activity? ricardo: this is the problem. when information that is highly sensitive is released, it gives the suspect the opportunity to get ahead of the officials. this is something that officials have to pay real attention to. we are beginning to see this as a real trend across europe. catherine: thanks so much for your insights, ricardo,

president of the european center for information policy and security, joining us live there from brussels. now back in france, 100,000 police officers will be ringing in the new year on security detail -- duty. it is just six weeks since 130 people were killed in suicide and bomb attacks claimed by the islamic state organization. while there is no direct threat of an attack, all of the european capitals are under a general threat from militants. reporter: no fireworks in the city of lights this year. paris canceled its traditional new year's eve fireworks show. no pyrotechnice show this year. there will be what i just call a minimum, images rejected onto the arc de triomphe -- projected onto the arc de triomphe.

as in previous years, revelers will still be able to elyseealong the champs and join in a collective countdown. among them will be more -- 2000 more police officers than last year, some 11,000 among the city. that never before have we seen such extensive measures put in place to protect the french people. ganks to the police, the endarmes, and the security who are putting these measures in place. that the some say heightened security has led to fatigue among the ranks. in the streets, many parisians are ready to celebrate. >> we feel reassured. reporter: as you can see, people

are going out. you cannot just stay at home. reporter: across the globe, cities have stepped up security, but fears of terrorist attacks will surely not prevent many a celebration. catherine: this evening, the in paris isail getting a personal visit from the president. normally, this is a site for exhibitions and art shows. francois hollande has delivered his annual message on tv about an hour ago. take a listen to what he had to say. are notllande: we finished with terrorism. the threat is still here and it is at its highest level. we foil attack plans on a regular basis. my first duty therefore is to protect you, and that means tackling the root of the problem in area and in iraq -- in syria and in iraq.

that's why we have intensified our strikes against islamic state group. the punches are landing, the jihadist groups are falling back. catherine: in germany, the chancellor is calling on her people to stick together in 2016. angela merkel technology -- of oneedging the influx million migrants into her country. she said the arrivals are an opportunity. merkel: [inaudible] catherine: how has that message gone down in germany? words from angela merkel, but germany is already divided, to a degree, at least under great strain from the influx of one million migrants in just a year. reporter: indeed. the message was to ensure her people -- she appealed for a consensus

among all parties involved in the welcoming of those refugees. she called for more tolerance and unity in order to not risk the -- repeat -- to not repeat mistakes of the past. they are worried about what they of the islamization western world. integration of the migrants is essential. catherine: it has certainly been headline news throughout the year. angela merkel has been coming up against some frustrations in the european union, trying to get a coherent eu policy on how handle the migration. did that appear that would be the top priority of the year ahead? -- ther: the world

priority will be the welcoming of the migrants. she did not address any other topics in her speech. catherine: migration, a top priority for angela merkel and germany in the year ahead. now, 21 passengers on board an air canada flight have been injured amid severe turbulence. the flight from shanghai to toronto was supposed to land in calgary in alberta. eight people have suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening. 13 others were sent for observation in hospital. canada says it does not know yet what caused the turbulence. >> like, you see everything flying around. just like you were on a roller coaster. there ae was going down

straight. -- down very straight. a lot of screaming. >> my legs were shaking. midair.like, in thoseine: hopefully people have managed to recover a little bit to have their new year's celebrations. nations from the west pacific to the gulf have now entered the year 2016. the latest spectacular fireworks celebrations we have seen, in the gulf. still just a couple of hours to go until we say happy new year here in paris. celebrations in many european cities had been canceled because of security concerns. , among others,in still due to hold their annual fireworks spectaculars. catherine clifford takes us to some of the biggest spectaculars around the world so far. reporter: a cloud of balloons

rises against the skyline as japan marks the beginning of 2016. earlier, new zealand was the first country to welcome in the new year. auckland celebrated with the traditional fireworks display at the 300-meter-high sky tower. nearby australia followed two on anlater, after putting early display for those who did not fancy staying up till midnight. ancient nomadic maasai tribe are celebrating the new year with a traditional feast. and only beef.ef the community leaders spray beer over cattle and sing to it before killing the animals. mas has banned public

celebrations, saying they offend the territory's values and religious traditions. revelers in brazil will have no such problems. countryl the -- see the host the olympics and celebrate the 100th anniversary of samba. those waiting to attend are and wait soak up rays for the clock to take -- tick down. catherine: now, a look at some of the day's talk business stories. markus karlsson with us. we move into the new year, a controversial new trade deal is coming into effect. markus: it is finally happening. fortunately, for some. unfortunately, for others. the free trade agreement between ukraine and the european union will come into effect on friday. that will lower the cost of

ukrainian goods in europe and vice versa. the deal has thank you -- has angered russia. the kremlin has said it will slap punitive charges on imports. we have more details. reporter: it was the free-trade agreement with the eu that for ukraine a part -- that tore ukra ine apart. awayr yanukovych backed from it, sparking widespread protests that led to his ouster. the free-trade deal goes into effect friday and seeks to enhance trade relations between ukraine and the eu. that you remove customs tariffs will remove- the eu customs tariffs and quotas.

,ussia is angered by the deal saying it could reduce the attractiveness of its own exports in ukraine. moscow suspended its free-trade week,ent with kiev this but the ukrainian prime minister says his government is prepared for russian sanctions. regime, as we expected, will implement sanctions against ukraine, particularly for our free trade agreement with the eu. ukraine has already prepared counter sanctions to the trade embargo that will be implemented by russia. reporter: these include -- counter sanctions include blacklisting russian airlines. following the annexation of crimea last year, russia said it would take legal action over ukraine's failure to pay its 3 billion euro debt. as of friday, moscow will also reestablish customs taxes up to 7% on ukrainian imports. markus: the final trading day of

2015 in the united states. indices are set to close out the year in negative territory. the dow jones industrial average going lower by about 7/10 of 1%. all sectors are down as investors seem to be adjusting their portfolios before 2016. there is one sector bucking the trend, and that is energy. oil prices have stabilized somewhat on this final trading day of the year. the ftse and the cac 40 finished 2015 on a negative note as well. the dax in front for was shot on thursday and had its final trading day on wednesday -- in fankfurt wasshut -- in rankfurt was shut on thursday and had its final trading day on wednesday.

markets got a boost after the european central bank's stimulus program. by ftse was undermined falling oil and mining shares in 2015. that came on the back of falling oil prices. seeing a pretty dramatic move lower when it comes to those crude prices this year. indices in the asia-pacific region also performed differently, shall we say, in 2015, with the nikkei in tokyo gaining 9%. the shanghai composite gained almost 10%. it was one of the best performing markets globally this year. the hang seng in hong kong suffered on fears that china's economy is slowing. like the ftse 100, the asa in in sydney was way down as metals prices dropped.

we are going to head back to france now, where a change is heading to the high streets in 2016. more and more stores will remain open on sundays. this follows a government push in 2015 to loosen sunday trading rules. a major retailer has reached a deal with employees to allow for extended opening hours. of next sunday, it will be possible to shop here in the center of paris. this store will now be able to open some 50 shops across -- this brand will now be able to open some 50 shops across france on sundays. people are thrilled. zara employees are ok with it, then why not? >> i work all day long ash all week long. it is the only -- i work all week long.

it is the only day i have to shop. reporter: those who work on sunday will be paid double and will get extra time off. two of france's major labor unions voted against this agreement. others supported it. >> some are interested in working on sundays. reporter: the agreement follows "macron law," named after france's economy minister. it lays out measures to help boost the country's economy. other companies are trying to follow in its footsteps -- in this company's footsteps. markus: bp is working on getting a north sea oil platform back online. the company shut down operations there and evacuated staff earlier. this was a precaution as a

drifting barge came close to the oil field. the north sea has been hit by extreme weather this week. one company said it work killed when a big wave slammed into a drilling rig. 10 countries in southeast asia have taken a formal step towards forming an eu-inspired trade bloc. founded an economic community this thursday. the aim is to create a single with more than 600 million people. analysts warn of serious challenges ahead. are you popping open a bottle of champagne for the new year? if so, you are not alone. industry estimates show that champagne sales are set for a record year this year. 312 million bottles of the french is have been -- french

fizz have been shipped. sales rose by more than 4% on 2014. the previous record was set in 2007. year,"ed to saying "this but i suppose i should be thinking of 2016. catherine: that's a very confusing time. markus: especially when you are broadcasting to different time zones. catherine: happy new year to you , markus karlsson. thank you for the business news update. stay tuned. we have more news coming up after a short break on "live from paris."

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